Location-based operations and messaging

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for using location information to determine a medium to use for communications to a user of a mobile device are provided. The user&#39;s mobile device provides location information to in intermediate computing device. That location information is accessed and used to determine, from a plurality of media, which to use for communications with the user. In various embodiments of the present invention, the user&#39;s mobile device can receive location-based content and commands.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 60/805,301 filed Jun. 20, 2006 and entitled“Communication and Content Sharing Across Social Networks.” The presentapplication is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/363,912 filed Feb. 27, 2006 and entitled “Context Based Action.” Thedisclosures of these commonly owned and assigned applications areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to location-based operations andmessaging. More specifically, the present invention relates tolocation-based operations and messaging in the context of mobile devicessuch as cellular telephones, smart phones, personal data assistants(PDAs), wireless electronic mail devices, and the like.

2. Description of Related Art

An individual may receive communication in a variety of ways, includingthrough a telephone call, short message service (SMS) text messaging,instant messaging (IM), and/or electronic mail (e-mail). Further, anindividual may have multiple telephone numbers, text messaging services,instant messaging services, and/or e-mail providers. For example, anindividual may have separate telephone numbers for home, office, andmobile device(s); separate e-mail addresses for personal and work use;and use separate instant messaging services for different groups ofcontacts.

The variety of available communication media allows for an individual toreceive communications in multiple ways. An advantage of an individualhaving multiple communication media is that these media provide optionsand alternatives should one or more of the media fail to provide meansto promptly reach the individual. Notwithstanding, these multipleoptions for communicating with an individual complicate thedecision-making process with regard to which communication media to use.

Successfully contacting an individual may, for example, require someforeknowledge regarding his/her availability with respect to eachcommunication medium. Without such knowledge, there is presently no wayto determine which communication medium has the best chance of reachingthe individual short of testing each communication medium individually.Such trial-and-error may be inefficient, time-consuming, and ultimatelyfail to reach the individual since the availability of eachcommunication medium and, further, an individual's availability througha particular medium are not static. Availability and likelihood ofsuccessful communication through a particular medium constantly changedue to, at least in part, the movement of the individual to differentphysical locations, which may have different restrictions or limitationswith respect to communication.

Some mobile devices include location-based utilities, such asaccessibility to or interaction with the Global Positioning System(GPS). GPS-equipped mobile devices may be capable of determininglocation of the device using trilateration. Trilateration uses signalsfrom a plurality of GPS satellites and the time the signals take toreach a GPS-equipped mobile device to determine distances between eachof the plurality of GPS satellite and the mobile device. Those distancesmay be used to determine the physical location of the mobile device.

Further, some presently available mobile devices continually transmitsignals through base stations. A base station may include multipletransmitters/receivers (transceivers) for the purpose of connectingmobile devices within a particular geographical region to their network.Each base station may serve regions, also referred to as “cells,”ranging in size from a fraction of a mile across to 10 miles or moreacross. Identifying which cell is servicing the mobile device may serveto determine the general physical location of the mobile device.

Some GPS-equipped telephones may also operate in conjunction with theAssisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS). In conjunction with GPS,A-GPS utilizes information from other sources, such as base stations, tohelp determine a mobile device's location more quickly and accuratelythan GPS alone.

There is a need in the art for taking location information, such as thatprovided by GPS, base stations, and/or A-GPS, into account inintelligently determining a communication medium for efficientlycontacting a user of a mobile device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary systems and methods of the present invention determine anoptimal medium for communications with a user of a mobile device basedon a location of the mobile device. In various embodiments of thepresent invention, location information can be established by acomponent such as GPS or A-GPS module at the mobile device. The mobiledevice provides the location information to an intermediate computingdevice such as a communications management server. That locationinformation may be accessed and used by other devices to help determinean optimal medium for effective communication with the user of the firstmobile device.

Location information may be used to indicate whether the user isaccessible through certain communication media. For example, if the useris in transit, he/she would not be immediately accessible at the homeand office telephones or certain e-mail addresses. In another example,if the user is in the office, he/she may not be immediately accessiblethrough the home or possibly even mobile telephone

Some embodiments of the present invention may include location-basedcommunication systems where a first mobile device may determine itslocation and provide the location information to an intermediatecomputing device. In some embodiments of the present invention, locationinformation may be determined by GPS and/or A-GPS component. Thelocation information is accessed and considered by a second mobiledevice in determining which communication medium is likely to reach theuser of the first mobile device in a timely fashion. Some embodiments ofthe present invention allow for an intermediate device to determine theoptimum communication medium and provide information concerning thatmedium to other devices.

Some embodiments allow for mobile devices to be configured as cellulartelephones. In addition to determining an optimal communication medium,various embodiments of the present invention allow for the determinationof alternative communication media, also based on the location of thefirst mobile device.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the first mobile device isfurther configured to receive location-related content. The locationinformation provided by the first mobile device is used to determinewhat content to send to the first mobile device. In various embodimentsof the present invention, the location-related content is generated by acontent generator and transmitted by a content broadcaster. Further,some embodiments of the present invention allow for the first mobiledevice to receive location-based commands.

Some embodiments of the present invention include the computer programsand instructions for receiving information concerning the user of amobile device, receiving information concerning the physical location ofthat mobile device, and determining an optimum medium for communicationwith the user of the mobile device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an exemplary mobile device that may be usedin a location-based communication system, according to variousembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an exemplary implementation of alocation-based communication system, according to various embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary location-basedcommunication method, according to various embodiments of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention includes system and methods for determining one ormore media to use for communications to a user of a mobile device based,at least in part, on the location of the mobile device. By usinglocation information gathered by various means, embodiments of thepresent invention determine which, out of a plurality of media, may besuccessfully used to contact the user of the mobile device. Someembodiments further allow for the mobile device to receivelocation-based content and commands.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an exemplary mobile device 100 that may beused in a location-based communication system, according to variousembodiments of the present invention. Embodiments of mobile device 100may include cellular telephones, smart phones, PDAs, wireless e-maildevices, handheld computers, and the like. Because mobile device 100 isportable, it may be carried by a user at all times. Thus, the locationof mobile device 100 may serve as an accurate indication of the locationof the user. In some embodiments of the present invention, mobile device100 may comprise input/output component(s) 110, a contacts database 120,an antenna 130, a GPS component 140, an A-GPS component 150, a processor160, an extensible communication application 170, and a display 180.

Input/output 110 may be any of a variety of hardware and/or softwarecomponents configured to allow for communication between the user, othercomponents of mobile device 100, and, in conjunction with antenna 130,other mobile devices. The communications may include audio/visualinformation, SMS text messages, IM messages, e-mails, and the like. Invarious embodiments of the present invention, input/output 110 mayinclude a keypad, keyboard, touchpad, touch screen, speech recognition,microphone, speakers, and the like. Some embodiments of the presentinvention may include one or more input/output 110 components operatingindividually or in combination with one another.

Contacts database 120 may be configured to store information regardingvarious contacts. Such contact information may include informationconcerning various communication media associated with each contact,including addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, IM addresses,SMS numbers/addresses, and the like. Contacts database 120 may furthercorrelate location information with a particular mode of communication(e.g., if a contact is identified as being at a particular locale via alocation determination such as the contact's office or within aparticular radius thereof, then contact by office phone as identified inthe database 120 may be preferable). Information may be added, deleted,and edited in contacts database 120 using one or more input/output 110components. For example, a keypad may be used-to enter a new telephonenumber.

Various embodiments of the present invention may allow for personalpreferences to be included in contacts database 120 in association witheach personal contact entry. For example, a personal contact may have apreference about which e-mail/IM addresses to use. That person may bemore likely to check that particular e-mail/IM address more frequentlythan other communication media and thus receive any messages morequickly than messages sent to another address via another medium. Inanother example, a personal contact may prefer to use landlinetelephones versus mobile telephones whenever possible. Therefore, whenthat person is at home or at work, he/she may turn off or otherwisedeactivate the mobile telephone making the landline telephone the bestway to reach that person.

Antenna 130 may be configured to receive and transmit variouselectromagnetic waves, including, for example, radio signals. Variousembodiments may include external antennas, internal antennas, GPSantennas, wireless network antennas, and the like. The electromagneticwaves received and transmitted by antenna 130 may convey various kindsof information, including the communication information generated orreceived by input/output components 110.

For example, an SMS text message keyed into a keypad may be translatedinto an electromagnetic medium and transmitted by antenna 130 to anotherdevice. Using information concerning communication media (e.g., mobiletelephone number) belonging to a personal contact from contacts database120, the electromagnetic waves emitted by antenna 130 may bespecifically directed to a particular device belonging to thatparticular contact person. In some embodiments of the present invention,the transmission and reception of various signals may be performed byvarious communication apparatus in a communication network.

In various embodiments of the present invention, GPS component 140 maybe configured to determine a physical location of mobile device 100using GPS satellite radio signals. GPS satellites orbit the earth inprecise, predetermined intervals, broadcasting signals detectable bymobile device 100. GPS component 140 is configured to process thesignals from various GPS satellites, using the time between signalgeneration and reception to calculate the various distances between GPScomponent 140 and each GPS satellite. In a process called trilateration,GPS component 140 then uses those distances to pinpoint a location ofGPS component 140, which is coupled to or integrated with mobile device100. Various embodiments may allow for a user of mobile device 100 touse input/output 110 (e.g., keypad) to request that GPS component 140determine the user's own current location and/or determine directions toanother location. That location information derived by GPS component 140may be further linked to map data or other location information as maybe stored in a local or remote memory component accessible by thecomponents of the presently disclosed system and further correlated withthe locale of a particular contact and a mode of contacting thatcontact.

One problem with using GPS component 140 alone to determine a locationof mobile device 100 is that it can be slow and/or inaccurate undervarious circumstances (e.g., time-to-first fix (TTFF)). For example, GPScomponent 140 may perform slowly and/or produce inaccurate results inareas with uneven terrain, including hills and skyscrapers, where GPSsatellite signals may be subjected to physical or electromagneticinterference. Operating in conjunction with GPS component 140, A-GPScomponent 150 may be any of a variety of software applicationsconfigured to (for example) expedite TTFF and make the trilaterationprocess more accurate and otherwise alleviate any variety of GPSinterference problems.

A-GPS component 150 may be configured to operate in conjunction with GPScomponent 140, hardware and software applications on mobile device 100for interacting with base stations, and a variety of other resources tosupport GPS component 140 in determining an accurate location of mobiledevice 100. These other resources may not rely as heavily on line ofsight as does GPS satellite signal trilateration and thus, may not be asaffected by variations in terrain, urban topography, and the like. Insome embodiments of the present invention, A-GPS component 150 may usetopographical, city, and/or various other maps to pinpoint a location ofmobile device 100 with varying degrees of specificity. For example, alocation may be described in terms of coordinates, addresses, mapdisplays, proximity to predetermined locations, or various combinationsthereof.

Processor 160 is configured to execute a variety of operations,including taking location information into account in determining anoptimum communication medium for reaching an individual. The likelihoodof an individual promptly receiving a communication using a givencommunication medium-depends on a variety of factors, including, forexample, personal preferences. Even without knowledge concerning theindividual's personal preferences, however, processor 160 can use theindividual's location to determine the communication medium most likelyto be successful at contacting the individual. In some embodiments ofthe present invention, a GPS component 140, alone or in conjunction withA-GPS component 150, may be used to establish that individual'slocation. Processor 160 may also use the individual's location inconjunction with various other factors, such as known personalpreferences, to determine the most effective medium of communication forreaching the contact.

In one exemplary embodiment, processor 160 may determine an effectivemedium of communication based on knowledge of the individual's locationalone in determining which medium to use. For example, an individual mayhave only home and mobile telephone numbers as voice communicationmedia. The location of the individual as determined through locationanalysis allows the processor 160 to assess the likelihood that one ofthe two telephone numbers should be used to reach the individual in atimely fashion. If the contact is currently away from home, thelikelihood of reaching the contact at the home telephone numberdecreases significantly. On the other hand, if the individual is locatedat home, he/she may be more likely to answer the home telephone ratherthan the mobile telephone.

Extensible communication application 170 allows for the use of a singlemobile device in efficiently managing multiple communication media.Allowing for integration and cross-platform interoperability, extensiblecommunication application 170 further allows a user of mobile device 100to check the status of various communications media in a cumulative,integrated setting, so that a user does not have to log repeatedly intoeach individual service to be able to check for messages. Variousembodiments of extensible communication application 170 allow forauthentication and secure transmission for each communication medium. Invarious embodiments of the present invention, extensible communicationapplication 170 further integrates various address books, contact listssuch as those in contacts database 120, calendars, and the like.

Extensible communication application 170 may include any of a variety ofsoftware applications configured to integrate the variety of protocolsand/or applications required to access various communications media viamobile device 100. Extensible software application may be similar tothose described in U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/805,301,which has previously been incorporated herein by reference. In someembodiments of the present invention, an extensible communicationsapplication 170 or other application offering similar functionality andthat may assist in making location-based determinations may reside at acommunication management server like that described in FIG. 2. Suchprotocols may include Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), InstantMessage and Presence Service (IMPS), Session Initiation Protocol forInstant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIP/SIMPLE), PostOffice Protocol 3 (POP3), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP),Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), SMS, Internet Protocol (IP), SessionInitiation Protocol (SIP) and the like.

A variety of applications may be accessible and integrated withextensible communication application 170. For example, an individual mayhave multiple e-mail addresses, such as Yahoo!®, Gmail®, Microsoft®Outlook, and the like. An individual may have multiple IM addresses,such as Yahoo!® IM, American Online® (AOL) IM, Google Talk (GTalk™),ICQ, and the like. Further, incorporating an application, such asJabber® may enable near-universal interoperability with IM applicationssuch as AOL/AIM, Yahoo!® IM, GTalk™, and various other communicationsprotocols. Extensible communications application 170 may operate inconjunction with input/output component 110 and/or antenna 130.

By operating in conjunction with extensible communication application170, display 180 may be configured to display a user environment throughwhich various communications applications can be conveniently accessed.In various embodiments of the present invention, display 180 may includeindications and/or links to updated information concerning the user'se-mails, instant messages, text messages, voice-mail messages, and thelike. Therefore, a user of mobile device 100 can determine the status ofall his/her communication media from display 180. For example, the usermight see display 180 indicating that he/she has received 1 newvoicemail message, 2 new e-mails at a personal e-mail address, 1 newe-mail at a work e-mail address, 2 new SMS text messages, 1 new instantmessage at Yahoo! IM, and 2 new instant messages at AOL/AIM. Further,the user may be able to access any of those messages from display 180simply by clicking a link, pressing a button, or other input/outputcomponents 110.

In various embodiments of the present invention, display 180 may alsooperate in conjunction with contacts database 120 to display informationfor a contact. For example, when a user searches for a contact, theinformation concerning that contact's various communication media maydisplayed by display 180. Display 180 may further reflect indicationsconcerning the current presence, availability, and/or log-in status ofthe contact through each communication medium, as determined andtransmitted by the contact's mobile device, according to variousembodiments and further described in FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an exemplary implementation of alocation-based communication system 200, according to variousembodiments of the present invention. The illustrated embodiment oflocation-based communication system 200 comprises a caller's mobiledevice 210, a caller's base station 220, a communication managementserver 230, a contact's base station 240, a contact's mobile device 250,and GPS satellite 260.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, caller's mobile device 210 may initiatecommunication with a chosen contact's mobile device 250 using variousintermediaries, including caller's base station 220, communicationmanagement server 230, and contact's base station 240. Various otherintermediate communication equipment as known in the art may also beused, such as switching stations. In some embodiments of the presentinvention, certain communication equipment may be integrated. Forexample, communication management server 230 may be integrated withnetwork service provider equipment. In some embodiments, the networkservice provider may “host” the communication management server 230 suchthat its functionality may be offered to subscribers of its network. Inaddition, caller's base station 220 and contact's base station 240 maybe the same base station when a caller's mobile device 210 and acontact's mobile device 250 are in the same cell. In various embodimentsof the present invention, caller's mobile device 210 and contact'smobile device 250 may comprise some or all of the components referencedwith respect to mobile device 100, illustrated in FIG. 1.

Caller's base station 220 may be configured to provide communicationservices to mobile devices within a predefined region or a “cell.” Thesize of the region may vary according to such factors as topography,population, cellular phone traffic, and the like. When an active (e.g.,‘turned on’) caller's mobile device 210 enters a cell, it connects tothe local base station by transmitting radio signals concerning itspresence in the cell. Those radio signals are detected by the local basestation serving that cell (e.g., caller's base station 220 in FIG. 2).

In some embodiments of the present invention, caller's mobile device 210may travel through a plurality of cells, and caller's base station 220may comprise the plurality of base stations serving those cells. Whencaller's mobile device 210 moves from one cell into another, thecaller's mobile device's 210 radio frequency connection is “handed off”from one base station to another. The handoff may be controlled by aswitching station (not shown) configured to control various aspects ofcellular traffic. Base stations are connected to a switching station,which allows for the switching station to monitor the locations ofactive mobile devices, arrange handoffs between base stations, monitorcommunications between mobile devices, and the like. The switchingstation may also direct calls from the caller's mobile device 210 to arecipient base station (e.g., contact's base station 240) serving thecell where contact's mobile device 250 is located, then to the contact'smobile device 250. Contact's mobile device 250, when active, isconnected to its local base station, which is in turn connected to aswitching station.

In some embodiments, of the present invention, the location of contact'smobile device 250 may be determined by which base station it isconnected to (i.e., which cell it is in) and as may be furtherdetermined by A-GPS component 150 or the like in conjunction withvarious software for interacting with base stations. Locationdetermination may also involve the use of contact's mobile device's 250GPS component 140, which is configured to use signals from GPS satellite260 to determine the location of contact's mobile device 250. GPSsatellite 260 is representative of the plurality of GPS satellites inorbit and those that may be required for trilateration.

Along with various other information, location information may berelayed back to communication management server 230 which is, in turn,communicatively coupled to caller's mobile device 210 in communicationsystem 200. Communication management server 230 may be like thatcommunication management server described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/363,912, which has previously been incorporated herein byreference. In various embodiments of the present invention, caller'smobile device 210 then determines the best medium to reach the contactperson, which may or may not include actually calling contact's mobiledevice 250 based, in part, on information provided by contact mobiledevice 250 to communication management server 230. Some embodiments ofthe present invention may allow for communication management server 230to determine the best communication medium based, in part, on locationinformation provided by contact's mobile device 250 to communicationmanagement server 230. Communication management server 230 may provideinformation concerning that medium to a caller's mobile device 210.

In some embodiments of the present invention, location information(e.g., GPS, A-GPS, cell/base station) for contact's mobile device 250may be updated automatically at communication management server 230 atvarious intervals (e.g., through regularly scheduled polling). In otherembodiments, caller's mobile device 210 may request location informationabout contact's mobile device 250 in order to enter into communicationwith the user. In such an embodiment, the user of caller's mobile device210 may designate a user to be contacted from contacts database 120.Caller's mobile device 210 may (via communication system 200) contactcommunication management server 230 which may request locationinformation about the designated contact's mobile device 250 if thatinformation is not readily or currently available. For example, locationinformation may be out of date and new location information may berequired in order to best elect a communication medium for contacting aparticular user. “Fresh” location information may be obtained throughpolling by the communication management server 230 or a specificlocation information request which may be initiated through, forexample, an SMS or an IP trigger. A user of contact's mobile device 250may also set their device to regularly push location information tocommunication management server 230.

In some embodiments of the present invention, contact's mobile device250 may be configured to receive location-based content when thelocation of contact's mobile device 250 is determined and relayed tocommunication management server 230. For example, contact's mobiledevice 250 may receive information concerning a local movie theater nearthe location of contact's mobile device 250, as indicated by the updatedlocation information maintained on and/or received by communicationmanagement server 230. Some embodiments allow for the user of the mobiledevice to request location-based information, subscribe to a servicethat sends location-based information, or the like. In the aboveexample, the user of contact's mobile device 250 may have subscribed toa various services providing film and entertainment-related media.

Further, contact's mobile device 250 may receive entertainment-relatednews, polls, and various items of interest, based at least in part onthe location of contact's mobile device 250. Some embodiments of thepresent invention may include a content generator (e.g., anapplication-and/or related hardware to generate content in a variety offormats) (not shown) and/or content broadcaster (e.g., a particularserver or computing device configured to distribute, for example,content generated by the content generator) (not shown), whichrespectively generate and transmit location-related content to mobiledevices at a particular location based on location information providedby communication management server 230.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a location may bedetermined with varying degrees of specificity, including, for example,a street address, a block, a neighborhood, and/or a city. In someembodiments of the present invention, location may be described evenmore specifically, such as, for example, a floor of a building, asection of the floor, and/or a room in the building. Location-basedmessaging and/or other operations may then take place based on thislocation information.

Further, contact's mobile device 250 may also receive location-basedcommands. For example, if contact's mobile device 250 is located in amovie theater, contact's mobile device 250 may be configured to receivecommands concerning turning off the ringer, switching to silent/vibratemode, or the like. These commands are processed by the relevant hardwareand/or software at the mobile device as if the user were manuallyimputing such commands at the mobile device. Some embodiments may allowfor the command to subsequently be reversed. In the aforementionedexample, the ringer of contact's mobile device 250 may be turned backon, silent/vibrate mode disabled, or the like, once contact's mobiledevice 250 leaves the vicinity of the movie theater. Variousapplications may be implemented at communication management server 230concerning commands as they pertain to particular locales (e.g.,deactivating a mobile device in a hospital or church).

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary location-basedcommunication method 300, according to various embodiments of thepresent invention. In this exemplary method 300, a contact person ischosen, located, and then contacted using the medium of communicationdetermined to be the most effective based on at least the location ofcontact's mobile device 250.

In Step 310, a caller chooses a contact person from a contacts database120 on caller's mobile device 210. Choosing a contact person maycomprise searching a list for the contact person's name, speaking thecontact person's name into a speech recognition component, using presetspeed-dial buttons, selecting the contact person from a list, and thelike. Various embodiments of the present invention may allow for acaller to choose more than one contact person, including, for example,preset groups.

In Step 320, the location of the contact's mobile device 250 isdetermined. Caller's mobile device 210 sends communication managementserver 230 a request for information, which may include locationinformation, concerning the contact's mobile device 250. Contact'smobile device 250 uses GPS information from GPS satellites 260, A-GPS140 applications, and/or base stations to determine a location, which istransmitted to and maintained on communication management server 230,which provides the information to caller's mobile device 210. In someembodiments, the information may be transmitted directly to a requestingmobile device (e.g., caller mobile device 210).

In Step 330, the information obtained from communication managementserver 230 is then used by caller's mobile device 210 to determine thebest way to communicate with the contact. Factors that may be consideredin determining an effective communication medium include predefinedaddresses associated with certain communication media, proximity topredefined locations and/or addresses, predefined preferences, log-inand/or availability status on various applications, log-in status onvarious devices, and the like. Various embodiments of the presentinvention use at least one location-based factor to determine an optimumcommunication medium.

Some embodiments may further consider a combination of factors, inaddition to the at least one location-based factor. In some embodimentsof the present invention, Step 330 includes utilizing various processesto weigh the various factors and determine which of the variouscommunication media would be most effective at reaching the contactperson. In some embodiments of the present invention, Step 330 furtherincludes determining alternative communication media, based on variousfactors, including location. For example, e-mailing may be determined tobe the best way to communicate with contact, then in descending order,instant messaging, text messaging, and home telephone. Therefore, acaller has the option of attempting multiple communication media inorder beginning with the medium determined to be most effective. In someembodiments of the present invention, an alternative communicationmedium may be suggested automatically, or the caller may request analternative communication medium. The aforementioned determinations maybe the result of a software application stored in memory and/or inconjunction with extensible communication application 170. Suchdeterminations may also be made by similar applications residing at thecommunication management server 230.

In Step 340, the caller's mobile device 340 communicates with thecontact person, i.e., the user of contact's mobile device, using thecommunication medium determined in the previous step. Communication inStep 340 may comprise calling the contact using the number of thecontact's mobile device, calling the contact at home, calling thecontact at work, e-mailing at a certain address, instant messaging usinga certain service, text messaging, and the like. Step 340 mayautomatically be executed by extensible communication application 170following a determination of an optimal communication media by thecaller's mobile device 210.

While the present invention has been described in the context of aseries of exemplary embodiments, these descriptions are not intended tolimit the scope of the invention to the particular forms set forthherein. To the contrary, the present descriptions are intended to coversuch alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be includedwithin the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appendedclaims and otherwise appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art.

1. A location-based communication system comprising: a first mobiledevice configured to provide information identifying a physical locationof the first mobile device; an intermediate computing device configuredto receive the information identifying the physical location of thefirst mobile device; and a second mobile device configured to maintain acontacts database in memory, the contacts database configured to storeinformation regarding a plurality of communications media associatedwith each contact, wherein a communications medium is associated with aphysical location of the contact, the communications medium specifying atype of message, and determine a type of message to use forcommunications to a user of the first mobile device based on at leastthe physical location of the first mobile device as indicated by theinformation identifying the physical location maintained at theintermediate computing device, and the association between thecommunications medium and the physical location, the association storedat the second mobile device.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein theintermediate computing device is hosted by a network service provider.3. The system of claim 1, wherein the location information comprisesGPS-related information.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the locationinformation comprises A-GPS-related information.
 5. The system of claim1, wherein the second mobile device is further configured to determinean alternative communication medium based on at least the location ofthe first mobile device as indicated by the information identifying thephysical location maintained at the intermediate computing device and anassociation between the alternative medium for communications and thephysical location as indicated by information concerning the associationstored at the second mobile device.
 6. The system of claim 1, whereinthe first mobile device is further configured to receivelocation-related content based on at least the location of the firstmobile device as indicated by the information identifying the physicallocation maintained at the intermediate computing device.
 7. The systemof claim 6, further comprising a content generator configured togenerate the location-related content based on at least physicallocation.
 8. The system of claim 6, further comprising a contentbroadcaster configured to transmit location-related content to mobiledevices at a location as indicated by the information identifying thephysical location maintained at the intermediate computing device. 9.The system of claim 1, wherein the first mobile device is furtherconfigured to receive commands based on at least the location of thefirst mobile device.
 10. A location-based communication systemcomprising: a first mobile device configured to provide informationidentifying a physical location of the first mobile device; anintermediate computing device configured to maintain a contacts databasein memory, the contacts database configured to store informationregarding a plurality of communications media associated with eachcontact, wherein a communications medium is associated with a physicallocation of the contact, the communications medium specifying a type ofmessage, receive the information identifying the physical location ofthe first mobile device and determine a type of message to use forcommunications to a user of the first mobile device based on at leastthe physical location of the first mobile device and the storedassociation between the communications medium and the physical location;and a second mobile device configured to receive information concerningthe communications medium for sending the specified type of message tothe user of the first mobile device.
 11. The system of claim 10, whereinthe location information comprises GPS-related information.
 12. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the location information comprisesA-GPS-related information.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein thesecond mobile device is further configured to determine an alternativecommunication medium based on at least the location of the first mobiledevice as indicated by the information identifying the physical locationmaintained at the intermediate computing device and a stored associationbetween the alternative medium for communications and the physicallocation.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the first mobile device isfurther configured to receive location-related content based on at leastthe location of the first mobile device, as indicated by the informationidentifying the physical location maintained at the intermediatecomputing device.
 15. A method for determining a medium forcommunications to a user of a first mobile device, the methodcomprising: receiving information concerning an identification of theuser of the first mobile device; receiving location information from thefirst mobile device, wherein the location information identifies aphysical location of the first mobile device; and providing the userinformation and the location information to a second mobile device,wherein the second mobile device is configured to maintain a contactsdatabase in memory, the contacts database configured to storeinformation regarding a plurality of communications media associatedwith each contact, wherein a communications medium is associated with aphysical location of the contact, the communications medium specifying atype of message, and determine a type of message to use forcommunications to the user, based on at least the location of the firstmobile device and the stored association between the communicationsmedium and the physical location.
 16. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising providing the location information to the second mobiledevice, wherein the second mobile device is configured to determine analternative communication medium based on at least the location of thefirst mobile device.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprisingsending the first mobile device location-related content based on atleast the location of the first mobile device.
 18. The method of claim15, further comprising sending the first mobile device location-basedcommands based on at least the location of the first mobile device. 19.The method of claim 15, wherein the location information is receivedfrom the first mobile device in response to a request by the secondmobile device.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein the locationinformation is received from the first mobile device as part of aregularly scheduled transmission of location information.
 21. Acomputer-readable storage medium having embodied thereon a program, theprogram being executable by a processor to perform a method forlocation-based operations comprising: maintain a contacts database inmemory, the contacts database configured to store information regardinga plurality of communications media associated with each contact,wherein a communications medium is associated with a physical locationof the contact, the communications medium specifying a type of message,receiving information concerning an identification of a user of a firstmobile device; receiving location information from the first mobiledevice, wherein the location information identifies a physical locationof the first mobile device; and determining a type of message to use forcommunications to the user, based on at least the location of the firstmobile device and the stored association between the communicationsmedium and the physical location.
 22. The computer-readable storagemedium of claim 21, wherein the program further comprises executableinstructions to cause a determination of an alternative communicationmedium based on at least the location of the first mobile device. 23.The computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein the programfurther comprises executable instructions to cause a transmission oflocation-based content to the first mobile device.
 24. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein the programfurther comprises executable instructions to cause a transmission oflocation-based commands to the first mobile device.